Veteran journalist Bill Vaughan once said that a citizen of America will cross the ocean to fight for democracy, but won’t cross the street to vote in a national election. A lot of our neighbors might feel the same way after the long Republican primary or the slow rebound in the economic recovery. This November, however, Colorado will again be a prized swing state in the presidential election.

President Obama carried our state in 2008 with roughly 54 percent of the vote. But that was only the second time in 44 years that a Democrat won Colorado. For the President to win here again the game plan is simple – solidify its hold on women and drive up Hispanic voter turnout. But, secondly, the president can also help our economy. Truth be told, this might be his best tactic for not just winning Colorado’s nine electoral votes, but other swing states as well. While focusing on the economy may seem like a no-brainer, our state’s dynamic and diverse economy affords President Obama ample opportunity to showcase his vision for it. From finance and technology to agriculture and energy, Colorado’s economy is robust, allowing us to have the eighth highest personal per capita income of any state in the nation.

The key for President Obama’s election will be his ability to shore up the business environment, providing incentives for companies to invest in our people, our businesses and our communities. Two particular industries come to mind when I think of Colorado’s future investment potential: telecommunications and oil and natural gas development. Read more…

Marijuana is in the news. Amid the increasing conversation about medical marijuana and decriminalization for recreational use, parents struggle with how to discuss marijuana with their children. This is all the more pressing as usage is increasing rapidly among middle and high school students, and doing so at a time when young people’s perceptions of the danger of marijuana consumption is decreasing. The latter attitude is exemplified by the frequent statement by today’s youth that “it’s just pot.”

So what is a parent to say when discussing marijuana with his or her child or adolescent? Regardless of how one fees about the important issues of decriminalization and/or medical marijuana, there are important facts that need to be considered. Overall, marijuana is much safer than alcohol, but it is not as benign as many young people would like to believe. Three areas of legitimate concern about the effects of marijuana include learning, driving, and addiction.

There is clear evidence that THC, the principal psychoactive constituent of marijuana, interferes with memory and learning. This means that a student who consistently attends class while high on marijuana is not maximizing the benefits of his or her education. And while a joint on the weekend is unlikely to affect learning during the week, the same is not true for chronic, frequent, or daily use of marijuana. Because THC is stored in the body’s fat tissues and then slowly released into the bloodstream for days and weeks, daily marijuana users may be learning impaired for weeks after they stop using the drug. Read more…

Student Jonathan Edwards sitting in a restricted area at the University of Colorado at Boulder earlier this year. (Joe Amon, The Denver Post)

We’re glad to see charges dropped against three University of Colorado at Boulder students who had been arrested for trespassing as part of an effort to shut down pro-marijuana protests.

The students completed community service in order to have charges dropped — and they did so by volunteering with National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. We have to admit to enjoying the irony of that, despite the fact that it left the district attorney none too pleased.

But on a more serious note, it is appropriate that these three students are not left with criminal records. Their trespass consisted of walking past a barrier and sitting on the grass in an effort to protest the closing of the quad where a pro-marijuana legalization smokeout had taken place on April 20th in years past.

The cases involving students John Demoupoulus, Jonathan Edwards, and Gabriel Kuettel were handled appropriately by Boulder District Attorney Stan Garnett.

“Especially in cases with CU students in minor criminal cases, we want a way to have them be accountable but be able to put the incident behind them and get on with their lives — and that’s what we tried to do here,” Garnett said, according to a Daily Camera story.

At a time when the world is more interconnected than it ever has been and people are migrating around the globe, a new study has found that religious intolerance is on the rise.

That’s a disappointing turn of events when more understanding is needed.

A new study by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found that during 2009-2010 three-quarters of the world’s people live in places where practice of their religion is restricted in one way or another.

That’s 5 percentage points higher than a survey conducted a year prior.

Pew, a social science research institution based in Washington, said the restrictions came about through government interference, malicious acts, and crimes and violence motivated by bias.

Government and social forces harassed Christians in 111 countries, according to a story about the study by Reuters. Muslims faced such interference in 90 countries while for Jews, the number was 68.

We’re sure we’re not alone in wishing that people were free to worship as they please.

When is a “fundamental right” not a right at all? When the secretary general of the United Nations gets done slicing and dicing it.

“Freedoms of expression should be and must be guaranteed and protected,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, according to Reuters, in what sounded like a good start in addressing the “Innocence of Muslims” furor. But he quickly revealed he didn’t mean it. It turns out that free speech should be protected only when it is “used for common justice, common purpose” — and of course you know who gets to define those terms.

“When some people use this freedom of expression to provoke or humiliate some others’ values and beliefs, then this cannot be protected in such a way,” Ban continued.

“My position is that freedom of expression, while it is a fundamental right and privilege, should not be abused by such people, by such a disgraceful and shameful act.”

Thanks, Ban. No one really expects any principled courage from a UN bureaucrat, but Ban’s mealy mouthed repudiation of free speech offers yet more evidence for why his organization is so nearly useless when it comes to actually protecting the fundamental rights of people around the world.

It is also yet another reminder to those in the United States, beginning at the top reaches of the administration, who seem reluctant to offer an unqualified defense of free expression, even when it is admittedly offensive. When they blame violence on free speech, they play into the hands of those who don’t believe in free speech in the first place.

Vincent Carroll is The Denver Post's editorial page editor. He has been writing commentary on politics and public policy in Colorado since 1982 and was originally with the Rocky Mountain News, where he was also editor of the editorial pages until that newspaper gave up the ghost in 2009.

Guidelines: The Post welcomes letters up to 150 words on topics of general interest. Letters must include full name, home address, day and evening phone numbers, and may be edited for length, grammar and accuracy.

To reach the Denver Post editorial page by phone: 303-954-1331

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